The Bah Humbug of All Humbugs!

I am the Bah Humbugs of all Humbugs!
I mean I like Christmas. I just don’t enjoy the Christmas season. All hustle and bustle bothers me. I dread the “Countdown to Christmas”. I hate the “Save more at 5 AM” sales. I hate shopping anytime much less at 5 AM.

It seems that Christmas Season is the time for gluttons to shine. I hate how credit card companies try to get you deeper in debt. I hate how TV ads try to get you to buy want you don’t need. But most of all, I hate how the always “cheerful-ready-for Christmas people” have their wonderfully wrapped gifts under the tree and have Christmas cookies rolling out by the dozen. You know the folks who have their homes decorated by Thanksgiving. They have the Holiday Cheer and eggnog ready to pour. These happy folks always full of merriment. You know them, there the ones singing Christmas carols in the office or humming tunes in line at the grocery store. Bah Humbug!

It’s easy to forget why we celebrate Christmas. Being a humbug I have to really think about it. Being Santa’s helper is not the reason, having the biggest most decorated tree is not the motivation, getting the most lights and the best lawn décor is not the cause. What is the explanation of this holiday, we call Christmas? Are we so steeped in family traditions that we forget? Are we afraid our children’s memories will be the worst, requiring post Christmas counseling and therapy? Can we really remember why Christmas is Christmas? All the advertising dollars spent getting people to want what they don’t have and the stores promoting their sale-a-ramas. Where does it end? Bah Humbug!

Where is the Christmas spirit, when you are those long lines at the store? Where is the kindness when the 50% off sign is calling you to grab those “must have items”? Where is the joy when you have to park miles away to get to the overcrowded mall?Bah Humbug! Where does the madness end?

It ends at a manger.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:8-12

Simply A Baby
A baby, not a warrior, not a political figure, not a celebrity
A baby, defenseless to the outside world, helpless and holy, God and human, Emmanuel, God is with us. Jesus, a newborn lying in a feeding trough
A baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, Jesus sacrificing a crown and the glory of heaven, so we could have a different life.
A baby, like no other, the Savior of the world, Christ the Lord
A baby, God’s greatest gift to mankind
A baby with the wonderment and restrictions of the earth
A baby living as humans do
A baby whose death would cause the earth to shake and a curtain to rip
A baby whose resurrection would defeat death

It was birth like no other; His life would end in a death of obedience and sacrifice to pay the debt of sin and separation. From a manger to the cross, a baby to a man, God’s joy and sorrow, Jesus has come to be our redeemer. Christmas is about His beginning, a reminder of how much God loves us. Yes, the madness ends at a simple manger, and it makes look at Christmas in a new light. The wonderment and amazing simplicity of the manger silences my bah humbugs.